What's that? I owe you a post in [thread name]? It's one in the morning, I should be asleep? I've got midterms coming up? Tough luck - I just finished Neverwinter Nights 2: Mask of the Betrayer, and I need to get out that post-game blabber. This will be spoiler free, but I tend to get excitable, so you've been warned.
First off, for those who don't know, Neverwinter Nights 2 and its' expansion are Computer RPGs in a similar vein as Knights of the Old Republic or Baldur's Gate. For those more familiar with the genre, let me start by saying this expansion has more in common with KOTOR 2 and Planescape than KOTOR 1 and Jade Empire, but in a good way.
Mask of the Betrayer follows the player's character from Neverwinter Nights 2 after their victory over the King of Shadows. You awake in a barrow far underground, in a country far distant from your home, and a terrible dark hunger growing in your stomach. Though the hero has defeated a terrible evil and saved his country from destruction, he is given no time to rest as a new adventure plunges on and new mysteries fall in your path.
The game is very different from NWN2, which felt more like a classical fantasy romp. There was a loudmouth dwarf, an elf druid, a brave Paladin, a powerful, forgotten evil - though NWN2 was thoroughly enjoyable, many would call it standard fantasy fare. Mask of the Betrayer, however, is more about the day after the world-saving. The hero's accomplishments have elevated them, which brings unwanted attention and draws them into new and far more dangerous plots. You're therefore on less rails, giving you more freedom to take quests and companions as you please.
What's also incredibly notable is how much more malleable the game world is. You can slay companions, shift loyalties, embrace or fight your curse in many ways and at many times, and really influence the outcome of the whole story in both meaningful and subtle ways. Many complained after NWN2 that they longed for the freedom of Baldur's Gate 2 to attack who they want and do what they want, and while this isn't quite as free, it's as close as you're likely to get.
The plot, too, is far more shades of grey. Law and Chaos are as relevant as Good and Evil, and the underlying themes (Many masks, but the same underneath) are intricately woven into every subplot. You can turn almost anywhere and see parallels between your situation and those around you. This never becomes heavyhanded, but instead helps emphasize and underline the significance of the plot.
The characters are fewer in number but far better developed, remaining fresh and interesting throughout the campaign. You only need to leave one companion back at base at a time, and even then it was a challenge to decide who not to bring. The shorter game time also brought more focus to events and made it feel like you were constantly dealing with the curse, instead of building up to it slowly through irrelevant side missions.
This game is more difficult, especially for those who know little about D&D, than the first one. Players start at a high level where the game starts to become wickedly imbalanced. A badly built character will fail, while a strongly built one will be unstoppable. Difficulty also appears in the plot, however, which requires you to make some tough (and sometimes subtle) decisions in order to get certain endings and results. The Spirit Meter, which tracks the progress of your curse, limits your ability to rest and adds a sense of urgency to your quest. Many hate it, but in my experience it merely punishes lazy gameplay.
All in all, this is a great title and perfect for those who are willing to sit down for a few long hours and commit to completing it. It probably won't suit those who like something light, as the loading screens are long, some points WILL require replaying to get right, and the game tends to punish sloppy planners or anyone who doesn't really get into it.
****SPOILERS FOLLOW FROM THIS POINT ON****
For those who aren't going to play the game, let me tell you about the story - because that's what really compelled me to write about this game.
The main character is cursed into becoming a spirit-eater, harbouring an entity that devours souls to stay alive, and if no souls are available it will devour the bearer of the curse. Through the character's exploration, it is learnt that this curse was once a man's soul, a man named Akechi.
Akechi lead the failed First Crusade of the Betrayer, raising an army to attack his own god (the god of the dead, Myrkul) after Akechi's lost love was punished for her faithlessness. In the world of Neverwinter Nights, to die without faith means you are melded into the Wall of the Faithless, where your soul will dissolve. This punishment is part of the covenant between gods and mortals that govern the universe, so that even when Myrkul was later deposed and replaced with the just Kelemvor, he retained the wall and the practice of grinding the Faithless into it.
Akechi didn't fail completely, though. Though he was cursed into the Spirit Eater, he still succeeded in freeing his love's soul, and his lieutenants went into hiding. It was this lost love, who returned to life, who arranged for the player's hero to inherit the curse as part of a long-term plan to reverse it. The player retrieves Akechi's sword, gathers the crusade once more, and sets out to besiege the city of Judgement again in order to regain their own soul and reverse the curse.
The player succeeds in regaining their soul from the wall, but is faced with a choice - in defeating the Spirit Eater, they may bind it within their own soul, thus freeing Akechi of torment but binding the player to live in the City of Judgement forever after. Or, they may cast out the Spirit Eater to regain their life. This way, the Spirit Eater will survive and Akechi will still suffer, but the player will be rid of the curse.
The thing that makes the ending to this game so enjoyable is how trully malleable it is, for though I've described only two broad endings, the little touches within make all the difference. If you defeat a certain lich and cast out the spirit eater, for example, one of your companions reforms the Akechi Crusade to tear down the wall in the name of justice so that all souls may be free. If you let the Lich live, however, then that character is ambushed by it and the crusade fails. There are many such little touches that paint both endings in shades of grey - neither are inherently evil, and neither are the wrong choices, but depending on why you did it and what you did to accomplish it, different things happen.
There is even a secret, one which I have not yet unlocked, involving the Mask of the Betrayer itself. Unfortunately I did not acquire all the pieces of this mask, but I suspect it's the way of bridging the best parts of both endings. Perhaps Akechi can be saved? In the final battle, he wears the mask of which I have only an incomplete copy. I now scour earlier save games with baited breath to unlock this last secret.
Anyways, that's why I love this game. Try it!
First off, for those who don't know, Neverwinter Nights 2 and its' expansion are Computer RPGs in a similar vein as Knights of the Old Republic or Baldur's Gate. For those more familiar with the genre, let me start by saying this expansion has more in common with KOTOR 2 and Planescape than KOTOR 1 and Jade Empire, but in a good way.
Mask of the Betrayer follows the player's character from Neverwinter Nights 2 after their victory over the King of Shadows. You awake in a barrow far underground, in a country far distant from your home, and a terrible dark hunger growing in your stomach. Though the hero has defeated a terrible evil and saved his country from destruction, he is given no time to rest as a new adventure plunges on and new mysteries fall in your path.
The game is very different from NWN2, which felt more like a classical fantasy romp. There was a loudmouth dwarf, an elf druid, a brave Paladin, a powerful, forgotten evil - though NWN2 was thoroughly enjoyable, many would call it standard fantasy fare. Mask of the Betrayer, however, is more about the day after the world-saving. The hero's accomplishments have elevated them, which brings unwanted attention and draws them into new and far more dangerous plots. You're therefore on less rails, giving you more freedom to take quests and companions as you please.
What's also incredibly notable is how much more malleable the game world is. You can slay companions, shift loyalties, embrace or fight your curse in many ways and at many times, and really influence the outcome of the whole story in both meaningful and subtle ways. Many complained after NWN2 that they longed for the freedom of Baldur's Gate 2 to attack who they want and do what they want, and while this isn't quite as free, it's as close as you're likely to get.
The plot, too, is far more shades of grey. Law and Chaos are as relevant as Good and Evil, and the underlying themes (Many masks, but the same underneath) are intricately woven into every subplot. You can turn almost anywhere and see parallels between your situation and those around you. This never becomes heavyhanded, but instead helps emphasize and underline the significance of the plot.
The characters are fewer in number but far better developed, remaining fresh and interesting throughout the campaign. You only need to leave one companion back at base at a time, and even then it was a challenge to decide who not to bring. The shorter game time also brought more focus to events and made it feel like you were constantly dealing with the curse, instead of building up to it slowly through irrelevant side missions.
This game is more difficult, especially for those who know little about D&D, than the first one. Players start at a high level where the game starts to become wickedly imbalanced. A badly built character will fail, while a strongly built one will be unstoppable. Difficulty also appears in the plot, however, which requires you to make some tough (and sometimes subtle) decisions in order to get certain endings and results. The Spirit Meter, which tracks the progress of your curse, limits your ability to rest and adds a sense of urgency to your quest. Many hate it, but in my experience it merely punishes lazy gameplay.
All in all, this is a great title and perfect for those who are willing to sit down for a few long hours and commit to completing it. It probably won't suit those who like something light, as the loading screens are long, some points WILL require replaying to get right, and the game tends to punish sloppy planners or anyone who doesn't really get into it.
****SPOILERS FOLLOW FROM THIS POINT ON****
For those who aren't going to play the game, let me tell you about the story - because that's what really compelled me to write about this game.
The main character is cursed into becoming a spirit-eater, harbouring an entity that devours souls to stay alive, and if no souls are available it will devour the bearer of the curse. Through the character's exploration, it is learnt that this curse was once a man's soul, a man named Akechi.
Akechi lead the failed First Crusade of the Betrayer, raising an army to attack his own god (the god of the dead, Myrkul) after Akechi's lost love was punished for her faithlessness. In the world of Neverwinter Nights, to die without faith means you are melded into the Wall of the Faithless, where your soul will dissolve. This punishment is part of the covenant between gods and mortals that govern the universe, so that even when Myrkul was later deposed and replaced with the just Kelemvor, he retained the wall and the practice of grinding the Faithless into it.
Akechi didn't fail completely, though. Though he was cursed into the Spirit Eater, he still succeeded in freeing his love's soul, and his lieutenants went into hiding. It was this lost love, who returned to life, who arranged for the player's hero to inherit the curse as part of a long-term plan to reverse it. The player retrieves Akechi's sword, gathers the crusade once more, and sets out to besiege the city of Judgement again in order to regain their own soul and reverse the curse.
The player succeeds in regaining their soul from the wall, but is faced with a choice - in defeating the Spirit Eater, they may bind it within their own soul, thus freeing Akechi of torment but binding the player to live in the City of Judgement forever after. Or, they may cast out the Spirit Eater to regain their life. This way, the Spirit Eater will survive and Akechi will still suffer, but the player will be rid of the curse.
The thing that makes the ending to this game so enjoyable is how trully malleable it is, for though I've described only two broad endings, the little touches within make all the difference. If you defeat a certain lich and cast out the spirit eater, for example, one of your companions reforms the Akechi Crusade to tear down the wall in the name of justice so that all souls may be free. If you let the Lich live, however, then that character is ambushed by it and the crusade fails. There are many such little touches that paint both endings in shades of grey - neither are inherently evil, and neither are the wrong choices, but depending on why you did it and what you did to accomplish it, different things happen.
There is even a secret, one which I have not yet unlocked, involving the Mask of the Betrayer itself. Unfortunately I did not acquire all the pieces of this mask, but I suspect it's the way of bridging the best parts of both endings. Perhaps Akechi can be saved? In the final battle, he wears the mask of which I have only an incomplete copy. I now scour earlier save games with baited breath to unlock this last secret.
Anyways, that's why I love this game. Try it!
